How I Met Your Mother
by dancefan93
Summary: I'm going to say this right now the story has NOTHING to do with the show it just happens to have to the title. Anyway, this is kind of sequel to Rumple's Life but then again not really. It has the same characters plus two new OCs. I will be writing a 'real' sequel. Rated T to be safe even I'm sure there won't be anything too bad in there if at all.
1. Chapter 1

**Several years later**

_Well a lot has changed in the Gold household. For one they got a new member of the family. Belle French became Belle Gold and legally adopted Bae and Hannah. Bae and Hannah continued to grow like weeds. Bae excelled in school and was the smartest one in the class; his teachers loved him and never wanted to him to move up to the next grade. Hannah grew up and is now at the age of twelve which means hormone hell for Adam. Bae is fifteen and starting high school in the fall. That's not all that's happened; there were also two additions to the family about nine years ago. Young Bria and Lucas entered the world on June 18__th__. Belle got pregnant with twins after a couple years of trying. After many negative tests and a few miscarriages, Belle had started to lose hope of ever having a baby. Imagine her surprise when she found out she was pregnant with twins and she carried them to term. The doctor wasn't going to take any chances with them and ordered Belle to have a C-section. While the operation went underway, Adam held Belle's hand while they waited to hear the cries of the first baby. When they both cried, so did Belle and Adam. Adam kissed her forehead through the surgical mask and told her who much he loved her…_

"Belle, where are you?" Adam called. Belle shut her diary that she always wrote in, in third person for some reason and threw it under the bed. She went out to the hall and met Adam. "Where were you?"

"In our room. I was writing." Belle said. Adam shrugged and wrapped his arms around her. "You know I hate that you got that rubber tip on your cane 'cause now I can't hear you when you sneak up on me."

"That was the whole point of getting it dearie."

"Well one day I'm going to rip it off." Belle said swinging her arms around his neck. He kissed her sweetly.

"Oh my God, really?! Your room is right there!" They turned and saw Hannah standing behind them. Belle laughed and took her arms back. "It's not funny Mom! You and Dad do that all the time."

"One day you'll find someone you love and you'll be doing that and then your father will be behind them and start beating them with his cane."

"So now I know not to bring anyone home. Anyway, I came to ask you if I could sleep over Henry's tonight." Belle and Adam shared a knowing smile. "Stop! We're just friends!"

"Yeah and your mother was just my student. You can sleep over if you sleep in the spare room."

"What kind of sleep over is that? Emma has no problem with us sleep in the same room. All three of you even said that we slept in the same playpen."

"Yeah when you were two and you didn't have a chest. Your father was young man once they only have three things on their minds; sex, girls, and how to put the two together." Belle said walking away. Hannah sighed loudly before going into her room to pack for her night. Adam leaned against her doorway of her room.

"You know your mother only looks out for you."

"Yeah okay. Well, I don't really have to listen to her it's not like she's really my mom." Adam grabbed his daughter's arm and turned her toward him.

"What?"

"She's not really my mom. I know that. So does Bae, he's just too scared to actually say it."

"She's your mother." Hannah ripped her arm away from him and pulled an article out.

"Adam and Miranda Gold welcome their new daughter, Hannah home after being in an incubator for four weeks. The couple is proud to call themselves the parents of this baby girl. Who is Miranda?"

"No one you need to concern yourself with."

"She's my mother. Who is she?"

"Belle is your mother. I don't know how you got that article but give it to me right now."

"No tell me who is she!"

"No one!"

"Tell me!"

"Your mother who didn't want you! Okay happy? Miranda is your and Bae's real mother. She's in jail because she tried to kill Belle and me after she left the three of us for another man!" Hannah looked at her father as tears welled up in her eyes.

"She didn't want me?" She asked in a small voice.

"No and when she told me that I told her that you don't need to her to because I love you enough for both of us."

"If my own mother didn't want me why does Belle?"

"Because Belle has a heart of gold but that still doesn't matter because she has a heart to begin with. Miranda doesn't nor will she ever."

"She really loves me, not just because she married you?"

"She loved you before she and I were even together. Your first birthday was a happy day for three reasons; the first being that you had made it to a year, the second because I proposed to her that day, and the third because you called her Mama."

"I did?" Hannah asked with a light in her eyes.

"Yes. You looked right at her and said 'Ma'." Adam smiled at the memory. Hannah smiled thinking that she called Belle 'mama'.

"Was that my first word?" Adam's eyes filled with tears.

"No. You said your first word the day I came home after my accident. When I came in I held you in my arms and you smiled at me and said 'Pa'. I encouraged you to say it again and you said 'Papa'." Hannah smiled and leaned into her dad's side. "That was the happiest day my life."

"I'm sorry Papa." Adam wrapped his arm around his daughter and kissed her head.

"You're allowed to have questions. I knew that question would eventually arise that's just not how I expected it to."

"Aren't you always telling us to expect the unexpected?"

"Yes and it's always easier said than done." Hannah smiled and hugged her father. She got up and took the article throwing it in the trash bin.

"I don't care who that woman is. Belle is my mother always has been always will be." Adam smiled. "How did you guys meet?" Adam smiled and held in a laugh.

"Come here I'm going to tell you a story. Better call Henry and tell him you won't be sleeping over tonight. Go get your sister and brothers I'll tell you all the story." Hannah beamed and raced out of the room phone in hand. Adam decided to comfortable it was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

Soon all four kids and Adam were crowded in Hannah's small room while Belle had to go into work to work the late shift and wouldn't be home until after midnight. Adam sat on the bed against the headboard, Bae sat in a chair next to the bed, Hannah sat next to her father, Bria and Lucas took the bean bag chairs and lounged in them.

"Okay where to start, well, in order to get the full effect I have to tell all of you about Miranda first."

"I don't want to hear about her. Just tell us about Mama." Bae said.

"Well, this won't make any sense without her. So, I just moved to the States and I had no money, no job, and no place to stay. Ruby was actually the one who found me first. She brought me to the diner and told me that her and her grandmother owned an inn that I could stay in. They let me stay there for free even after I got the job at the university. They became my family, Ruby became my sister and Granny became my mom…"

_Flashback_

_ "I can't thank you both enough for letting me stay here." Adam said as he sat at the counter of diner before it opened. _

_ "Think nothing of it." Granny said. Ruby came over and stood next to him._

_ "Yeah, we're family now. That's means you're my big brother. Which means." She took a couple steps backward. This was a regular thing with her. She'd jump on Adam's back and demand a piggy back ride until the first custom walked in. Adam stood up and held Ruby as she jumped on him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they both laughed._

_ "If you two break anything I'll take you both over my knee." Adam calmed down knowing Granny wasn't kidding. She may have been Ruby's grandmother but she was raising her since she was three when both her parents were killed in a car accident. Suddenly, the bell above the door of the diner rang. Adam looked over and stopped breathing. Ruby got down and grabbed her pad with a huff. Adam looked behind him and saw Ruby and Granny had the same look. _

_ "What's wrong with the two of you?"_

_ "That's Miranda Spinner. Her father owns the biggest spinning wheel factor in the country but she came to this quiet little town to find a husband. She's been known to marry rich men, divorce them, and sue them for all they're worth. She's been conning men since she was seven years old, her father got her into it. Her and baby sister although no one knows what happened to her she kind of dropped off the grid a while back." Miranda seemed to catch Adam's eye. Granny grabbed his chin and brought his face to look at her. "You listen to me Adam Gold, don't go near that girl. She's back news and I don't want to see you get hurt." _

_ "I'm grown man Mom, I think I can take care of myself but thank you for the concern."_

_ "Hey there good lookin'." A smooth as silk voice said behind him. He whirled around and found a pearl white smile that belonged to an incredibly beautiful woman._

_ "H-Hi."_

_ "My name's Miranda. Miranda Spinner."_

_ "Adam. Adam Gold." Miranda's eyes regained a slight sparkle in them that when unnoticed by Adam._

_ "Well, Adam Gold, I don't think I've seen you around here."_

_ "No, I just moved here a few months ago."_

_ "I could tell you weren't from here. Not with that sexy accent." Miranda said while all but throwing herself at him. She draped an arm around his neck and pulled herself up against him. "How about I buy you a drink?"_

_ "O-Okay." They sat down and Ruby fumed. She smirked evilly and went over to them from behind. She swung her arms around Adam's neck and put her head on his shoulder. _

_ "Hey there big brother." Adam smiled and turned his head to kiss her temple. Miranda glared at Ruby but changed her expression when Adam turned back to her. "What can I get my favorite brother?"_

_ "Scotch please Rubs and what Miranda would like."_

_ "Oh sorry we don't serve blood sucking leaches." Ruby said as she walked around to the other side of the counter. _

_ "I could shut down this whole place Miss Lucas." Ruby leaned over so she was almost in Miranda's face._

_ "I'd like to see you try, bitch. You have no idea who you're dealing with." She whispered out with her words laced in venom. Miranda glared at her._

_ "Just get me martini."_

_ "Oh you're late this morning. It's after eight and you're just having your first drink." Ruby commented smugly. Miranda gave another glare as Ruby turned around and got their drinks. "What's going on with you, Adam? You never drink. You told me yourself you were trying to get sober."_

_ "It's one scotch. I'll be fine. I'll stop after this." Ruby glared at her brother not believing a word coming out his mouth. She slammed both glasses on the counter and stalked away to attend to customers that were starting to come in. Adam finished his scotch but somehow ordered another and another until he had had ten. He got up as Miranda did and she held him steady. "You got me drunk so I think it's only fair that you let me treat you to dinner tomorrow night."_

_ "I'd like that." _

_End flashback_

"That's how you met Miranda?" Bae asked. Adam sighed with his eyes closed.

"Yup, that's how I started on that long twisted road that I called a relationship. Two good things came out of that marriage and they're sitting here with me." Bae and Hannah smiled at each other.

"How did you meet Mama?" Bria asked.

"Well, I'll be getting to that. Unfortunately, it's past midnight and if you mother would to come home right now she'd kill me three times over for keeping all of you up so late. Back to your rooms and into bed." They all scurried off into their rooms. Adam got up with the assistance of his daughter and went into his room. Imagine his surprise when he saw his wife of eleven years sitting up in bed. "You're home."

"Yes I am and I'm up as are our four children."

"I was telling them story." He said as he sat on the edge of the bed to take off his socks and crawl into bed. Belle crawled down the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind effectively surprising him. He grabbed her arms and held them to him.

"And what story might that be?"

"The story of how I met their mother."

"To which kids?" Adam turned around and kissed her.

"They only have one mother."

"No I mean were telling the story to Bae and Hannah or Bria and Lucas?"

"I repeat they have only one mother. You, my beautiful wife, are mother to all of my children."

"Adam, I heard Miranda's name."

"Yes, only because I need to tell them that story so they can understand our story." Belle nodded and kissed his head. They both got into bed and Belle curled up with Adam being mindful of his knee.

"So how did you come to tell them that story? You stopped telling bedtime stories when the twins were five."

"Well, Hannah found her birth announcement and realized that your name wasn't on it." Belle nodded. "I don't know how she found it because I locked it away in the fire proof box in my office."

"We knew she would have questions. We knew there was a big chance she would have questions when she found out I wasn't her birth mother and she would find out. Adam I'm not that much older than her. I was in my twenties when I became your nanny and I was twenty six when we got married. She was bound to figure it out."

"I know I just wish I was better prepared for this."

"Well, continue to tell them the story. I know you didn't finish tonight. Tell them a little bit every night." Adam nodded. "Now, I'm tired so I'm going to bed. Good night, I love you."

"I love you too." Even after eleven years of marriage it still took Adam's breathe away whenever Belle told him she loved him.


	3. Chapter 3

The next night found everyone including Belle in the living room. Adam sat in his favorite chair next to the fire, Belle sat on the arm of the chair, and the kids sat on the floor in front of him.

"Okay, last night we left off when Miranda had agreed to go on a date with me and I'm sure none of you want to know what happened on that date."

"I know I don't." Belle said raising her hand.

"Seriously Dad, I didn't need that." Bae said rubbing his eyes harshly. It took Hannah a little bit longer to know what he meant but when she did,

"EW! Dad seriously! That's disgusting I don't think I can ever look at you the same." Bria and Lucas weren't quite sure what their father was talking about since they were only in the fifth grade and hadn't seen "the video" yet but based on their brother and sister's reaction they guessed it was bad.

"Okay now that you've personally scared our children can you move on?" Belle asked. Adam laughed and kissed her hand.

"Of course dearest. I'll skip to the part where we were already dating. A lot of the first two years involved a lot of that." He got a slap on the back on the head.

"DAD!"

_Flashback_

_ Adam sat in the diner at the counter, smiling. He thought he was very happy with Miranda but something seemed off. He figured he wanted to make her his and make sure she never left. Ruby came over and sat down next to him._

_ "What's on your mind?"_

_ "I think I want to marry Miranda."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "I think I love her. I thought you would happy."_

_ "No, I'm not happy. You can't marry her." Ruby yelled. "Besides don't you need to know for sure that you love someone before you marry them?"_

_ "I think if I make her mine then our love with come out." Adam said. _

_ "Are you off your rocker?" _

_ "No, I really believe this."_

_ "I can't believe this! This is probably the worst idea you've ever had." Ruby said as she got up and walked away. Adam sighed and put his head on the counter. He suddenly felt two hands on his shoulders._

_ "Hi sweetie."_

_ "Hi Miranda." Adam said lifting his head up. _

_ "You look like you need a drink." Miranda said signaling over a waitress._

_ "No Miranda I don't need a drink. That's the last thing I need. You need to stop drinking."_

_ "Well, that won't be too hard considering that I can't drink for the next nine months at least." Adam's head snapped over to Miranda._

_ "What?"_

_ "Yeah, I'm pregnant." Miranda said matter-of-factly. They heard a loud crash and turned towards the sound. They saw Ruby standing frozen with a pile of broken plates and glasses at her feet. Adam could only assume she had heard her. Miranda smirked at the waitress. Adam knew his choice was chosen for him now. He had no choice but to marry her. Two months later, he proposed and two months after that they were married. Miranda had started to show by that time and she was very needy pregnant woman. Adam blamed it on the hormones but Granny and Ruby said she was milking Adam for everything he had. At that time it wasn't much it was enough to keep Miranda interested. When Miranda was seven months along, she went into total bitch mode. She refused to let Adam leave the house because she refused to have the baby alone. Granny had had about enough with her and would have walked out but she loved her son way too much to do that to him. So she stuck it out for a while longer. Ruby hasn't talked to Adam since their talk at the diner. That all changed when Neal Baelfire was born. Adam wanted to name him Baelfire as his first name but Miranda was having none of it. She said that her son would have an American name so he settled with it as his middle name. Ruby came in every intention of just seeing her nephew since he was innocent in all of this. However, her plans didn't go as planned._

_ "Ruby I was beginning to think you wouldn't come see your nephew."_

_ "I was going to come to only see him but I know there's something I have to do. Adam, I'm so sorry for everything. I was out of line and I let my jealousy get the best of me. I had no right to say any of those I said or thought. I was just jealous because you were spending all your time with Miranda and you didn't have time for your little sister anymore. I realize that you were just a guy in love now so I pushed everything down and decided that since Miranda is now a part of your life I need to deal with it. I don't like it but your brother and I'll always love you." Adam smiled and hugged his sister. _

_ "Well come see him." Adam brought her over to the nursery window. She looked in and pressed her hand against the glass._

_ "Adam, he's beautiful." She looked over and saw him smiling like the proud father he was. "I think I'm in love." Adam laughed._

_ "You'll be waiting a long time Ruby. He's only two days old. You've got seventeen years and three hundred sixty-three days before you can even think about it. By then I hope you're married with kids of your own." They both laughed. "Do you want to hold him?"_

_ "Of course." Adam smiled and signaled for a nurse to bring Neal out. _

_ "I was about to bring him to your wife's room."_

_ "Okay, we'll wait there." Adam led Ruby to Miranda's room. She was sleeping so they were quiet. "She didn't hold him. She turned her head away after they said he was a boy. She didn't look at him or hold him." Ruby rubbed Adam's shoulder and the nurse brought Neal over. Adam went over and picked up his son. He smiled at the bundle in his arms and handed him to his sister. Ruby fell in love with Neal the moment she looked at him. His chocolate brown eyes were open and he looked at her with confusion and question. She smiled as a tear fell from her eye._

_ "Adam, he's perfect. He has your eyes, your nose, your ears, everything is you." Adam smiled with pride. He looked at his sister and then at his wife that was still sleeping and wondered if he would be able to give his son a good life._

_End flashback_

"Miranda didn't hold me?"

"Not at first. Your birth was a very long one. After being in labor for eighteen hours all she wanted to do was sleep." Bae shrugged and stood up. "Bae?"

"I'm fine. I've got Mom now. I'm fine." Bae said as he went over and hugged Belle. Belle smiled slightly and hugged him back kissing his head. She loved the moments when he was too ashamed to admit he still loved her even though she wasn't really his mom and that he was a teenager. Hannah stood up and hugged both her parents before going to her room for bed. Belle looked down and saw both the twins were sound asleep.

"How are you we going to get them into their beds?" Belle asked.

"Easy." Adam stood up and poked each of them with his cane until they woke up. "Time for bed you two."

"We were sleeping Papa." Bria said as she tiredly got up.

"You just woke us up so we can go back to sleep." Lucas complained.

"If this were thirteen years ago I would have gladly carried you both to bed. Unfortunately, I'm unable to do that."

"That's only cause you married then divorced a psychopath." Bria said as she hugged him and then Belle. Lucas leaned against his father as he yawned then hugged his parents. When they were out of earshot, Belle walked over to him.

"Stop I know what you're thinking. Don't even start to think that you're failing them as a father."

"I haven't held them in my arms since they were two and even then I couldn't hold both of them." Belle wrapped his arms around him.

"You love them and that's all any child could ask for." Adam pulled her to him and kissed her. "You have no idea how much I love you."

"I have a pretty idea. The question that remains is why."

"You make me happy." Belle said simply. She turned around and went upstairs. Adam looked at his cane and slowly but it against his chair. He tried to take a couple steps without it and got from the chair to opposite end of the fireplace and back. He smiled even though he was sweating. He decided that he would teach himself to walk again without a crutch. First he had his fear as a crutch now he has his cane. He decided soon he wouldn't need either.


	4. Chapter 4

Adam woke up earlier than normal and went downstairs to the basement. He leaned his cane against a bench and stood up straight. He could feel the pain begin to build but ignored it. He grabbed one of the rings hanging from the ceiling for Bria's gymnastic practice and held himself up on it. He could feel the sweat begin to gather on his brow but wiped it off and continued. He let go of the ring and started to walk. He made sure he was always under the rings incase his leg gave out. Good thing too since five steps in he had to grab the ring that was above his head. He smiled at himself that was able to get those few steps in. He turned and went back to get his cane. He sat on the bench and caught his breath before heading upstairs. As he was, he heard his daughter come down the stairs.

"Papa? What are you doing down here? How did you get down here?" Bria asked as she came over and sat down.

"I needed a quiet place to think. All four of you are growing up so fast. I remember when I would have to hold you up just so you reach these rings now you can graze the bottom with your fingertips." Bria smiled and leaned into his side.

"You're sweating. Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, fine. I'll be okay." He stood up and Bria stood up to help him. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I have a tournament today. I thought I'd get some practice in before school. Are you going to tell us more of the story tonight?"

"Of course, unless I bore you being that you and your brother fell asleep before the end last night." Bria turned a bright shade of red.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"No matter. I'll see you tonight." He kissed her head and headed upstairs. Later that night found the family in the living room with a roaring fire. "Will you tell us more of the story tonight since we don't have school tomorrow?"

"You may not have school but I have work tomorrow." The kids groaned. "Now let's begin…"

_Flashback_

_ Three days later, Miranda and Neal were cleared to come home. Adam immediately saw there was something wrong with Miranda._

_ "Um, Miranda, I think Neal may need a feeding soon. He's hasn't eaten in two hours."_

_ "So, you feed him." She coldly replied sitting on the couch and leaning back._

_ "Well, actually, Miranda I don't possess the… equipment to feed him."_

_ "He's drinking from a bottle. I'm not doing that breast feeding crap." Adam just nodded and brought the carrier he was holding into the kitchen with me. He set his son on the table and smiled._

_ "I think Mama's a little cranky. I think she needs a nap." He whispered to his sleeping son hoping his wife didn't hear. He turned around prepared four bottles to put in the fridge for the time being. He made a mental note to make more before going to sleep. Neal woke up and just looked around. Adam turned around and saw his son was awake. "Well, hello Neal." Neal looked over to the voice he recognized as his father. Adam could tell Neal remembered him. "Let's go see if Mama's sleeping." Adam walked into the living room with Neal and saw Miranda sleeping soundly. "Okay Neal, you stay here I'm going to carry Mama to bed." He placed Neal on a mat he had in the living room and went over to Miranda. He gently scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed room. He went back into the living room and lay on his stomach next to his son. Being only four days old, he couldn't do very much but Adam just wanted to be close to him. He kissed Neal's head and smiled. He silently chuckled when Neal started to blow bubbles. He ran his finger down Neal's tiny cheek. "I love you so much my boy." The next couple of weeks were hard on both mother and father. Granny and Ruby came over as often as they could but they couldn't be there all day every day. Adam tried to make sure he didn't have to work in the evenings so he could be home to take care of Neal. It seemed to him that Miranda didn't really care much Neal and would rather he not be there. It saddened him to think that his wife didn't love or care about their son. He didn't care though he loved his son enough for both of them. _

_End flashback_

Adam watched his son carefully. He had kept all of this a secret from Bae. He knew Belle wasn't his mother but he still treated her as if she were. After all, he was the one to ask if Belle could be there new Mama. Adam watched Bae as he took everything in. He got up and started to walk away. Adam thought he was going to go to his room but when he wrapped his arms around Belle, it stunned him. Bae rarely hugged him or Belle nowadays that he was a teenager and it was lame to hug to your parents or embarrassing. Belle wrapped her arms around Bae equally as stunned. Bae buried his face in Belle's shoulder and that was when Belle felt the tears fall onto her shirt. She turned her head to Adam and mouthed that he was crying. Adam kissed his children and sent them to bed so Belle and Adam could talk to Bae. Belle rubbed Bae's back.

"Bae, how about you talk to your dad? We can talk later." Bae's only response was tightening his hold on Belle.

"Please don't leave me." That one little sentence brought tears to Belle's eyes as well as Adam's.

"I'll never leave you Bae. I'm here for the long haul." Bae snuggled more into Belle's embrace.

"I'm sorry Bae. I never should have started telling you this story. The whole time has been nothing but heart break for you." Adam said his heart breaking watching son cry.

"It's not your fault. I would need to know the truth eventually. It's just the truth of it that gets to me. I'm glad you told me because now I know that been unfair to Belle." Bae said he pulled back slightly and sat down in between Belle's legs, another thing he hasn't done since he turned ten. Belle and Adam shared confused looks. "I've still loved Miranda even though now I know she never loved me."

"Bae, it's not bad that you still love Miranda. She was your mother."

"She never loved me and she never even wanted Hannah. She doesn't deserve anyone's love!" Both Adam and Belle could see the anger management problems that Bae had been struggling with since he was six coming forward. Belle wrapped her arms around his from behind.

"Bae, calm down. You need to calm down then we can talk more." Belle said. Bae took the deep breathes he was taught and started to calm down. He hung his head and leaned into his step-mom. Adam watched his son in his wife's arms.

"Bae, are you okay now?" Bae nodded. "Okay, do you want to talk more or go to sleep?"

"I just want to go to bed." Adam nodded and Belle let go. He went into his room with not such as a good night. When Bae left, Belle stood up and so did Adam. They went into their room and after a while, Belle looked over.

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

"After a while. He's a strong boy."

"Adam, you don't think he'll… hurt himself do you?" Adam looked at Belle.

"No, he won't. I know my son and he wouldn't do that." Belle nodded.

"I just have this nagging feeling in my stomach." He pulled Belle to him and had her lay her head on his chest.

"I promise it will take time but Bae will be fine." Belle nodded and they both fell asleep. In Bae's room, he tied his sheets together in a rope and connected them to the heat radiator in his room near his window. He threw them out his window and looked down. He swallowed hard and climbed over the edge while holding onto the make shift rope. He was going to get answers from his birth mom even if it killed him.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Belle woke up to her phone ringing. She groaned and grabbed it. She looked at the caller id then answered after seeing it was Emma.

"Who's dead?"

"What?"

"Well, you're calling me at seven o'clock in the morning on a Saturday so I can only assume someone's dead." She felt the chuckle in Adam's chest under her head.

"Well Bae might be. He was supposed to come here twenty minutes ago and he never showed up." Belle groaned and threw the blankets off her.

"Hold on I'll go get him up." Belle got up and dragged herself out of the room. She went down the hall and knocked on Bae's closed door. "Bae, let's go. You were supposed to be at Emma's house twenty minutes ago." She opened the door after getting no reply. "Bae. Bae, where are you?" She looked around the room and saw that his cell phone was on his bed and his window was open. She also saw the sheet rope and ran over to the window. "Emma, call that husband of yours and have meet me at my house. Bae's missing. He ran away." Belle hung up and ran into the bedroom she shared with her husband. She jumped on the bed and started shaking Adam. "Adam, Adam, wake up. Wake up we have a probably. Bae ran away." Adam woke up and grabbed his cane. He limped down to his son's room. He saw the sheet rope and looked out the window. He looked over to Belle and saw her crying. He went over and embraced her.

"We'll find him. Don't worry we'll find our son."

"I think I know where he went. He was really upset last night. What if he went to the jail to talk to Miranda?" Adam took a deep breath and went over to the phone calling Graham who was still the Sheriff and Emma's husband. For hours Graham was at their house looking through Bae's computer, phone, e-mails, etc. Graham had sent Emma and another deputy over to the jail that holding Miranda to see if Bae was there. Hannah watched from behind a corner the whole day.

"Daddy, do you think Bae's okay?" Adam turned around and saw Hannah standing in the doorway fighting to not let the tears fall.

"He's fine. I know that. I promise we'll find your brother." Hannah nodded and wiped her eyes not wanted to appear weak in front of her father. He looked at his daughter and sighed. "Do you remember what I told you about asking for help?" He asked remembering asking the same thing to Bae twelve years ago.

"That we shouldn't be ashamed to ask for it." Adam nodded.

"Well, I need your help. I need your help with your brother and sister. Do you think you can help me?" Hannah nodded.

"I can help you. Do you think there will be a story tonight?"

"Well see, sweetheart." Adam went back over to Belle and tried to calm her down again. Hannah turned around started to walk away until she heard her mother explode.

"How can you be so calm?! Bae isn't even my own son I'm still more distraught then you."

"One of us needs to be calm Belle. If both of us are distraught that won't accomplish anything. You don't think I'm not worried. Inside I'm freaking out. I'm going over every possible outcome of this and none of them are good. I'm seeing Bae in a ditch somewhere, dead, I'm seeing him in someone's basement, I'm seeing him in the woods somewhere, he ran away but that doesn't mean he wasn't abducted once he left. He is everything to me and all I want is him back!"

"Then why aren't you out there looking for him?! You're his father and you're supposed to protect him!"

"And what about you? You're his mother! You're supposed to protect him as well, be the one person he could talk to about anything, what happened to that?"

"If you're trying to say that I don't care about Bae, take it back because you know I love him and have for the past twelve years. Even that week that you didn't let me see him and Hannah I still loved them. What's your excuse? Are you just taking any action cause you're the coward my sister always thought you." Hannah, who had been distracting her sister and brother from the first argument their parents ever had, stopped what she was doing when she the very distinct sound of skin meeting skin… _hard_. She knew what that meant and she had never been more scared of her father then that moment. Downstairs, Adam was staring at his now stinging hand in shock then looked at Belle. She was holding a hand to her cheek with her head down.

"Belle…" He didn't even know what to say. There was nothing he could ever say that would ever erase the fact that he had just hit a woman. He swore that he would never do that after seeing his father beat his mother when he was a young boy. Of all the people he had that would have deserved a good slap, he hit his wife, Belle, the kindest person in the world. "Belle, I," Belle didn't even give him time to gather his thoughts before she too had a sting in her hand and he had a handprint on his cheek. She ran past him and into the dark night. Adam knew for sure he would be looking at divorce papers and in his mind that was what he deserved most. He sat down and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe he had just hit his wife. The phone rang and he picked it up.

"Adam, we found him. Belle was right. He went to the jail to ask Miranda some questions. He won't tell me what those questions were he just said that he got the answers he wanted and he's ready to come home." Emma told him. Adam sighed in relief.

"Thank you Emma. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. I'll be back in a few hours with him. See you then." They hung up and no sooner did he put the phone down, it rang again.

"I'll be over there in ten minutes and you can tell me why Belle is in my diner crying her eyes and mumbling something about you hitting her!" That was the only sentence that was heard before the phone was hung up. Adam knew he was in for it. Ten minutes later, his door was kicked in. He never knew his mother was that strong even in her older years. "Well, start talking!"

"Things got out of control. She started yelling that I didn't care about Bae because I wasn't a bubbling mess. She started yelling that I was his father and I should have protected him. We both exchanged some hurtful words and then she said that I was a coward just like Miranda had always thought and I snapped. Before I even knew what was happening, my hand was stinging and she was holding her cheek."

"So you hit that sweet girl over an argument?"

"In a nutshell, I guess. Mom, I don't know what to do. I swore I would never hurt a woman not after I saw my father beat my mother every day of my life."

"You need to grovel at her feet and beg for forgiveness. Swallow your damn pride show some weakness for once. Whether you want to admit it or not, Belle is your weakness. She's the only woman you've ever truly loved." Granny left the house without another word and left Adam thinking over everything. He looked at the time and saw that he still had three hours until Emma would return with Bae. He grabbed his cane and called up to his children that he was leaving and left the house. He drove to the diner and saw Belle and Ruby through the window. He parked and went inside. He stopped at the door when Ruby turned her head and saw his face. She turned back to Belle and whispered something to her. Belle just shrugged and Ruby left her side. Adam slowly walked over and Belle turned her body to face him. He walked the rest of the way to her then promptly fell to his knees at her feet with his arms around her waist. Belle fell silent and still, shocked. She had never seen her husband in such a state.

"Belle, my sweet sweet loving Belle. I'm so so extremely sorry. I never meant to her hurt you. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but I'm asking no begging you to give me another chance because I love you so so much. To know that I hurt you makes me sick and want to die. No one deserves to be hit and least of all you. You're my one true love and I'm begging you to give me one more chance. I'll make it worth it. If you chose not then I'll back away gracefully and give you whatever you want. I beg you though to think it over before saying no." He said all this with his forehead on her stomach. She took a deep shuddering breath before placing a hand on his head. She moved her hand to his cheek and made him look up.

"Stand up Adam. Your knee has to be killing you."

"It is but I won't make you look up at me while you tell me no. You have every right to look down at her."

"Will you please stand up Adam?" She helped him stand up and sit on a stool. "What brought this on?"

"I feel terrible for what I did Belle. I really truly do. I would rather die than live with the fact that I was the one who put that mark on her cheek."

"You're not the first man who's raised a hand to me and I'm sure you won't be the last."

"That doesn't mean I was right, Belle. Just tell what I can do and I'll do it. As much as it pains me, if you want a divorce I can call my lawyer right now and have the papers drawn up."

"As much as you did hurt me, you can't get rid of me that easily. We were both in the wrong. I never should have called you a coward for brought Miranda up. I'm sorry for that and for hitting you as well."

"Nothing you could have said or did justifies what I did to you."

"Adam will you stop it. You acting like did something completely unforgiveable. You just hit me and I'm fine. I'm not bleeding or dying. I forgive you because I love you so much." She took his face in her hands and kissed him. He pulled her close to him and kissed her with all the passion he had in his body. She had forgiven him. He would make sure that nothing ever happened like to her again and especially not by his hand.

**So I know that everyone was not expecting this but I had to put this in here because I personally have wanted to see a fight between Belle and Rumple. Before people starting throwing stones at me no I don't actually believe that Rumple would ever hit Belle. I just put that in there for dramatic effect. Next chapter will be Bae coming home and talking to Belle and Adam and then we're back to the flashbacks. Don't give up on me :(**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know a lot of you were disappointed with the last chapter. That being said this chapter as promised is back to the original story line. That last chapter was a filler really because I haven't been feeling well and I got my friend into Once so that my 'overlooking Once chapter'. I don't want any of you to think I think Rumple would ever ever raise a hand to Belle or any woman for that matter because I think the exact opposite. Rumple is very much the man that would defend any woman. So don't worry we are now back on track. I haven't decided if there will be a flashback in this chapter or if it will be just Adam and Belle's reaction to why Bae went to visit Miranda. Read on.**

Adam returned home with Belle with him. Hannah was sitting on the couch when they walked in.

"What are you still doing up?"

"Someone had to be up when Bae got back. I thought you guys had come back and went to bed."

"No, we're just getting back now." Belle said sitting down and pulling Hannah to her. Hannah snuggled into her side.

"Where were you guys?" Belle and Adam looked at each other. Belle decided to take the lead.

"Well, we had a little argument and I got very upset and left and your dad came after me."

"Don't lie to me. I heard everything, hell, Bae probably heard everything. I know what you did." Hannah spat looking at her father with the last sentence. Adam sighed and sat down on the coffee table in front of the two girls. "Why did you hit her?"

"Hannah…"

"No, Belle, she has every right to ask that question. In answer to your question Hannah I don't know why."

"You told us what Grandpa used to do. Why did you turn into him?" Hannah asked as her eyes shone. Adam could see the fear in his daughter's eyes and that made him want to die once again that his own child was afraid of him.

"Sweetheart, I'm not turning to him. My father was a coward that's why he hit my mother, not Granny, my real mother. I promise you I'm not turning into Grandpa. Sweetling, please don't be scared of me."

"You hit Mama." That was the last straw for Adam. He knew now that all four of his children only called them 'Papa and Mama' when they were really scared. Adam's chocolate brown eyes drowned in the unshed tears that filled his eyes seeing the hurt in his daughters. He got up and went upstairs. Belle watched him go and looked back at Hannah. Just then, Bae walked through the door with Emma. "Bae!" Hannah jumped up and ran to her brother. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Bae held his sister to him and looked anywhere but at Belle. Belle stood up and went over to Emma.

"Thank you so much for bringing him back."

"No problem, can't have the little boy who had a crush on me until he was seven go missing." Bae blushed at the comment almost forgetting that. When Bae had met Emma he had declared to everyone, even Emma's parents that he was going to marry her one day. When Emma had married Graham, he didn't talk to her for three weeks until she promised that she would go to his senior prom with him. Of course that promise has been forgotten by both of them. "Well, I need to get home. Henry's been putting up a fight to get to bed on time recently and, well, Graham hasn't done anything to be put through that kind of torture." Belle and Emma laughed as Emma left and shut the door behind her. Belle turned to Bae who had let go of Hannah and turned to face her. Belle walked over to Bae and that's when he could see that tears in her eyes.

"Thank goodness you're okay." She said as she wrapped her arms around him. Bae stood still but didn't hug her back. "Don't ever do that again. I was so worried."

"I'm sorry. I had to talk to her. I had to know what was going through her head. I had to see why she didn't love me." Belle pulled back and cupped his face.

"I know what it's like to want answers. Believe me I do I want so many answers from my father but if you would have asked your father or I, we would have taken you to see her. You didn't have to run away."

"I just felt like I was betraying you if I asked that."

"Betraying me? How?" Bae took a shaky breath.

"You were the one who's been with me most of my life. You loved Hannah and me even when you were just our nanny. You showed me how to make snowflakes and paper turkeys. You used to let me play with your hair and leave it the way I put it until Papa came home. Mama never did those things. She acted like the two of us were burdens in her life."

"She is your mother Bae you'll always her. That doesn't mean you're betraying me."

"I shouldn't love her. All she did was give birth to me. If Dad didn't marry her she probably would have gotten an abortion. She almost did with Hannah. Even Dad said she almost did."

"Baelfire listen to me. It doesn't matter what your mother did or almost did she is your mother and always will be."

"No, she's only the woman who gave birth to me, that doesn't make her a mother. She left us when I was three and Hannah was two months old. When Hannah needed her most, she left. I don't care what my DNA or birth certificate says, I only have one mother and her name is Belle Gold." Bae hugged Belle and Belle held him to her. She saw Adam walk down the stairs.

"Your father is behind you." Bae turned around and saw Adam.

"Papa." Bae walked closer to Adam.

"Bae." He breathed out. When Bae was close enough, Adam pulled his son into his arms. "Please, never run away like that again." Adam said as tears filled his eyes.

"I promise Papa. I'm sorry."

"You're back now. That's all that matters." Adam kissed Bae's head and held him tight.

"I want to hear the rest of the story Papa."

"Bae, are you sure? I don't want to upset you any further."

"I'm sure. I can take it. Plus I'm pretty Mama's going to be sleeping on my floor for a while before she's sure I won't run away again." They both turned to Belle.

"I trust you Bae."

"Well, then go get your sisters and brother. Your mother and I will be in the living room." Bae raced up the stairs to get his siblings. Adam wrapped an arm around Belle. "He's okay."

"I know. I'm so sorry about earlier."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one that will be earning back your trust until the end of time." Belle cupped his face and kissed him passionately.

"A preview for later." She let go of him and walked into the living room. Adam breathed deep and walked after his wife he was lucky he still had.


	7. Chapter 7

Not even fifteen minutes later, all the children and both parents were in the living room. Belle had sat on the floor and Bae had sat next to her.

"Now, where were we in the story? Oh yes…"

_Flashback_

_ A few months had passed since Neal's birth and Adam's pride for son grew more and more with his son's growing. At this point Neal's was seven months old and was able to pull himself up. Which meant he was grabbing everything and pulling on it. Sometimes they were things that weren't that heavy which meant they went with him. Kind of like Adam's laptop did earlier that day. Adam sat at the coffee table grading papers since he had become the professor at Storybrooke University and he looked at Neal who was quietly watching TV. He went back to grading papers and looked up when he felt someone next to him._

_ "Well hello there Neal." Neal didn't say anything instead reached for the papers. "Oh no, Miss Trish will be very upset if you mess up her paper. Not that she worked very hard on it." Adam said moving the papers out of his son's reach and back into his bag. He looked up when he heard the click clack of Milah's heels. _

_ "Mama." Neal said reaching for her. Milah rolled her eyes and ruffled her son's hair. Adam rolled his eyes. _

_ "Adam do you have any classes tomorrow?"_

_ "Yes, all day actually."_

_ "Well, you'll have one more student. I have to go to the city."_

_ "You just found this out today?"_

_ "No I've known for three weeks I just forgot."_

_ "Three weeks?! Seriously, I could have made arrangements. He's not even a year old. You want me to bring him into a college classroom which college students."_

_ "Yes, hey maybe he'll get you a young girl you can sleep with."_

_ "No Milah, that's you that's unfaithful." He ducked to dodge a bottle that was flung at his head. "Very nice Miranda, throwing things in front of your son to his father." Miranda stomped her foot and left the room. Adam sighed and turned to Neal. "Well son, it looks like you'll get to see what Papa does during the day." The next day, Adam got Neal ready along with anything he would need. When he got to the school, he went into his classroom and set up a playpen on the stage where he usual walked and talked. He decided since his class was learning about children, Neal would be the perfect in class experience. Students started to file in and he could hear the whispers of how there was a child in the classroom. Neal stared at all the kids in awe before crawling back to Adam. He grabbed Adam's pant leg and pulled himself up. He lifted Neal onto his hip, kissed him, and put him back down. _

_ "Okay I'll be the one to ask. Professor Gold, why is there a baby in here?" Jenna asked._

_ "Well Miss Talls, I'm glad you asked. Those of you who were listening and paying attention last class will remember me telling you I would bring in my son for an in class learning experience. Neal is not by any means a perfect child. He's now in the almost walking phase that's what we'll be covering in class today anyway. I didn't mean to bring him in so early in the semester but well my wife didn't inform me that she would not be home to watch our son so he is. Where'd he go?" Adam looked around the stage and the class looked around their desks. _

_ "I found him Prof. Gold." Ashley called out getting up and pulling Neal out of the garbage can. "I guess he wanted to play hide and seek."_

_ "It would appear so Miss Boyd. Would you mind holding onto to him for me for a little while?"_

_ "Not at all." Ashley sat back down and gave Neal some crayons she had in her book bag for her art class. Adam watched for a few moments making sure Neal was in good hands. After being sure, he turned back to the lesson. A few minutes later, he heard a whisper and turned around. He saw it was Ashley telling Neal not to put the crayons in his mouth. He smiled internally and continued to talk. When he was done with his slide show, he turned around and found Ashley was watching him and rocking Neal at the same time. Upon further inspection, he found Neal asleep. _

_ "Miss Boyd, how in the world did you do that?"_

_ "Do what, Prof. Gold?"_

_ "You got him to sleep in the amount of time it took me to go through one twenty slide slideshow. My wife and I can't get him to sleep within the time it would take to do three of these."_

_ "I'm not quite sure. He just curled up and starting sucking him thumb. I didn't really rock him to sleep more did it keep him calm. He went to sleep on his own." Ashley said making eye contact with Adam with whole time. Adam walked over and Ashely stood up so the transition would be easier for all three of them. Neal shifted but just laid his head on Adam's shoulder. He heard a few of his students awe and say how cute Neal was. Once Adam's back was turned, Ashley shook her arms to get the blood flowing again. She sat down and put the crayons back in the box. _

_ "Well, that's all for today. I trust all of you have started you reports due next month. I'll want to see a rough draft by Monday. Class dismissed." The students filed out and Adam had a chance to relax before his next class. By the time he and Neal made it home, he was exhausted. If he wasn't teaching, he was chasing after Neal who had found a pen or pencil on the floor and decided it was his new toy and crawled away from Adam quick as lightning. He swore his child had some sort of super powers to be so fast. Adam threw himself onto the couch while keeping an eye on Neal. Miranda got home around almost midnight with a smile on her face. "Good day, Miranda?"_

_ "Great day." Miranda said not offering any explanation before going into the bedroom._

_ "Pa."_

_ "Yes, Neal… Neal? Say it again my boy." Neal looked at Adam with a huge smile. "Come on Neal. Say it again." Adam urged._

_ "Pa." Adam shot up and grabbed Neal, hugging him tight. _

_ "That's right. That's right my boy. I'm your Papa." _

_End flashback_

"I finally talked?" Bae asked.

"Yes and I was overjoyed that day."

"When did I change from Neal to Bae?"

"You'll find that out later in the story. Right now though, it's time for bed. You should remember that though Bae." The door was kicked open and Ruby came running in.

"I know it's late but I wanted to make sure my nephew is okay." Ruby said not stopping, kneeling, and hugging Bae. Bae was stunned for a moment then hugged his aunt back. "Let me you something Baelfire Gold you ever scare me like again and I'll hurt you, bad."

"I promise I'm not going to run away again." Ruby let go and smiled at her nephew. She slapped the side of his head and got up.

"Is that the reason that you're here at almost midnight?"

"No, Granny wants to yell at Bae too but she was sleeping. I came over and did that for me, she'll be over tomorrow. Oh, she wants to beat you too for what happened."

"We're not talking about that again. We're going to move past it. I'm lucky she forgave me the first time let's not remind her of that." Adam said wrapping an arm around Belle's waist. Ruby shrugged. "Okay, you need to leave and your kids need to go to bed."

"Fine, fine, I'm leaving." Ruby kissed her nieces and nephews then left. The kids got up and went to their rooms. Belle got up and pulled Adam out of the chair. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Adam kissed her and pulled back. That's when he noticed the small bruise on her cheek. He cupped her other cheek and kissed the bruise.

"Don't worry about that. It'll heal."

"Then your skin will be perfect once again."

"Let's go to bed. I believe I promised you something." Belle said slowly getting go of his hand and walking away. Adam smiled inside and out and followed his beautiful wife into their bedroom.


	8. Chapter 8

_Flashback_

_ Adam sat in his room watching as his son ran around the room jumping as high as his little body would allow. He was nursing a horrible hangover. He didn't remember what exactly happened but he knew it was bad when he woke up next to his wife and they were both without clothes. Neal climbed into bed and laid down next to Adam with his head on his father's shoulder. Adam smiled and kissed his son's head. _

_ "Love you Papa."_

_ "I love you too Neal. So very much." Adam drifted off asleep as his son did the same thing right next to him. For the next couple of weeks, Miranda avoided Adam like the plague. One day she came into the office in a rage and threw something at him. He missed it and bent down to pick it up. He looked at it and his eyes widened. He looked up at Miranda and she nodded with crossed arms. He leaned against the chair and sighed._

_ "What are we going to do?"_

_ "What's this we shit? I'm the one that's going to blow up like a balloon. I don't even want this kid. I want to get rid of it."_

_ "Miranda, please, I know you don't want the baby and I know you really don't love me but please, I beg of you, don't kill my baby."_

_ "You will be the one to take care of everything to do it. It will be your problem not mine!"_

_ "I can make that deal. Just please don't kill my baby." Miranda huffed and stormed out of the office. Adam knew he was going to be fighting an endless battle. For the next eight months, Adam was fighting with Miranda every night. Miranda wanted to ignore the fact that she was pregnant and drink every night. He once had to wrestle the bottle away from her. He had to argue with her every night when she would get home from work. He found out from a colleague that Miranda wasn't going to work, she had quit her job, and she was drinking all day. "Does Fetal Alcohol Syndrome mean anything to you?!" He yelled at her the day he found out._

_ "Not when the baby is one I don't even want."_

_ "Miranda, you are nine months pregnant. How long have you been drinking?"_

_ "About seven months." She replied nonchalantly as if it were no big deal._

_ "Miranda! You've been drinking throughout the entire pregnancy?"_

_ "I don't want this baby. It comes out messed up oh well. You'll have to deal with it because as far as I'm concerned this baby means nothing to me. I will not be its mother. I barely want to be Neal's."_

_ "Then why are you still here?"_

_ "Oh trust me as soon as this kid pops out, I'll be gone. As soon as I can." Miranda started to walk away but stopped. Adam watched her._

_ "Miranda?" She turned around holding her stomach. "We need to get you to a hospital." He grabbed his keys and got Miranda in the car. He was very grateful that Neal was with his mother. He drove as fast as he could probably breaking all the traffic laws to get his wife to hospital. When he got there, Miranda was taken into the maternity ward immediately. Adam stood next to his wife as she tried to ease the pain ripping through her body. He heard the doctor say that the baby was distressed and they needed to calm it down before it could be born. Adam tried to keep calm. He never it was too early for the baby to born but Miranda's water broke so whether he liked it or not, the baby was coming within a few hours. He was doing a really good job but when Miranda lost consciousness, he broke. They brought both mother and child into an operating room saying they had to get the baby out. He had to stay in the waiting room and he paced so long he swore he wore a hole into the floor. He finally stopped when he heard his name._

_ "There were a lot of problems due to the fact that your wife drank throughout the pregnancy. Whatever happened right before you came here put the baby through distress which was why your wife blacked out. We were able to get the baby out but she's got a while before she's out of the woods. She's almost four weeks early and that can have a huge impact. Right now she can't breathe on her own and her heart rate is down. We'll keep a close eye on her but I won't lie to you, it will take a miracle for her to survive. Your wife is doing a little better. We're pumping her with vitamins and have her on two IVs. It also seems she hasn't taken any of her prenatal vitamins or been to the doctor since none of us knew she was expecting. Mr. Gold were you aware your wife was drinking or hadn't been to the doctor?"_

_ "I did everything in my power to make sure she didn't drink when she was home but I found out today that she had quit her job a while ago and was drinking when she would leave in the morning. As for her doctor appointments, she never told me anything but had just assumed she didn't want me there since we're not on the best terms as of late."_

_ "Mr. Gold I'm going to be very frank with you. Usually when a baby is born with F.A.S., we're supposed to inform DYFS…"_

_ "Then do it. I have nothing to hide. The only one that should be worried is Miranda." The doctor nodded and walked away. Adam looked through the window where his wife was sleeping peacefully and looked toward the window where his daughter should be. Daughter. That word finally sunk in. He had a daughter. He had a daughter and he might lose her because of her mother. He pushed his rage down and turned back to the window where he could see Miranda. "When this over, I want a divorce." He whispered to the window almost wishing it wasn't there._

_End flashback_

"Miranda drank while she was pregnant with me and that's why I almost died?" Hannah asked. Belle had sat on the floor with the children and pulled Hannah towards her when Adam started telling the part that involved her birth since she knew it was going to be hard on her. "I was the product of a one night stand between the two of you?"

"I never thought of it that way. I thought of you as my child which you are."

"What happened with DYFS?" Bae asked.

"You'll hear about all that tomorrow."

"Hello no." Lucas said. "You can't just drop a bomb like that then ship us off to bed."

"Number one, watch your mouth. Number two, yes he can because he's father. Now off to bed all of you." Belle said getting up. The kids grumbled but got up, hugged their parents, then went upstairs. Belle went over to Adam seeing that he was upset. Talking about Miranda always opened some old wounds. She sat on his lap and rubbed his arm.

"These next couple of nights are going to be hard. To talk about how I had to fight for them, watch Hannah fight for her life, to watch my life turn upside down and not be able to do a damned thing about it."

"I wasn't able to be there for you last time, but I'm here now and I'll help you. It's going to be hard for Hannah too. It's her life you're going to talking about. I know it'll be hard. You're not doing it alone though." Belle said.

"I never told the DYFS part."

"I'll hear about it with the kids. You can leave anything out of the stories."

"Bae knows most of what happened. He'll know if I'm lying."

"Mom, Dad?" They turned and saw Hannah standing behind them.

"Yes sweetheart?" Adam asked. Hannah came around the chair and stood in front of them. "What's wrong?"

"Was I really the reason you almost lost Bae and me?" Belle got up off Adam's lap knowing the Adam was going to pull his daughter onto it. Which he did.

"None of what happened was your fault. Don't think like that. It was Miranda's fault not yours. You were innocent in all of this."

"But if she never got pregnant with me then you would never have had to fight for us."

"And I wouldn't have my wonderful beautiful daughter. I don't want you thinking too much into this okay? It's in the past. I didn't lose you or your brother and everything's fine. I wouldn't change it for the world."

"You didn't have these problems when Bria and Lucas were born." Adam tried to hold in a laugh.

"That's because Belle has a heart of gold and couldn't hurt a fly let alone two people growing inside her."

"I wish Belle really was my mother." Adam kissed her head.

"So do I, but you never knew Miranda. You only know Belle as your mother."

"I mean I wish she gave birth to me."

"Ah, well, if she did then you wouldn't be who you are today. You would have your hair color you do, your skin tone, your figure."

"What figure? I'm twelve years old." Hannah asked laughing.

"Maybe you really are Belle's. Your mother can't seem to believe that she still has a figure." Hannah turned to Belle. Adam knew this was going to be funny.

"Are you outta your mind?! Mama, most girls in my school would kill to have your body. So you had twins, big whoop. You still have a figure to make models jealous." He was right, that was funny.

"Okay time for bed. Don't think about this too much okay? I love you."

"I love you too Daddy. Love you Mama."

"Love you too princess." After Hannah left, Adam got up and didn't grab his cane. "Adam, what are you doing?"

"I can't keep this secret any longer. This is why I've been up for a while when you get up. I've been doing this." He started to walk towards her without his cane. Belle gasped and covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

"Adam." She choked out. He finally made it to her and she threw her arms around him. She brought her lips to his. "How long have you been working on this?"

"Since I started telling the stories. I wanted to surprise all of you at the end of the stories but I had to tell you." Belle smiled.

"I'm glad you did. You know, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to go back to physical therapy I mean now you have motivation. You want to surprise your kids."

"I was going to start in a couple years because the real reason I want to do this is so I can dance with Hannah and Bria at their sweet sixteens." Belle smiled and kissed him again. "Right now it's killing me though so I need that cane." Belle rushed and got it for him. "Let's go to bed so we can be up when the super humans wake." Belle laughed and walked up the stairs to their bedroom.

**A.N. I STARTED OUT WITH THE FLASHBACK THIS TIME BECAUSE I HONESTLY HAD NO IDEA HOW I WAS GOING TO GO INTO IT SO I JUST JUMPED. NOW AS YOU CAN SEE WE'RE GETTING CLOSER TO HOW ADAM MEETS BELLE. IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF CHAPTERS YOU'LL SEE WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED TO HANNAH DURING THOSE WEEKS SHE WAS IN HOSPITAL AND YOU ALSO SEE HOW MIRANDA COPES WITH THE FACT THAT SHE PUT HER DAUGHTER'S LIFE IN DANGER AND HOW SHE DEALS WITH DYFS ON HER A**. UNTIL NEXT TIME GUYS AND GIRLS.**


	9. Chapter 9

_Flashbacks _

_ Adam was brought out of his thoughts when he heard his name called. He turned around and saw two police officers and a social worker. His heart was pounding so hard that he was sure it would explode. Police he can handle, social worker makes it real._

_ "Mr. Gold, we're detectives Hanes and Carl. We need to ask you a few questions." Adam nodded and followed them to an empty room. "Mr. Gold, do you know why we were called?"_

_ "Because of my daughter. She had F.A.S. and doctors have to call when that happens."_

_ "That's right. Were you aware your wife was drinking?"_

_ "I did everything I could to keep her from drinking when she was home. However, I learned today however that she quit her job some time ago and was going to bars drinking when I thought she was at work."_

_ "Have you known her to be big drinker?"_

_ "Yes, but I never thought she'd drink while she was pregnant."_

_ "Your daughter isn't your first child, correct?"_

_ "No, we also have a son who's three."  
"Did she drink during that pregnancy?"  
"No, she worked at my mother's diner for that pregnancy so I would have known if she did." Adam said running a hand through his hair._

_ "What do you do for a living Mr. Gold?"_

_ "I'm a history professor at Storybrooke University."_

_ "Mr. Gold, do you understand what is going on here? You have a reason to take your children away from you. There will be a full investigation of both you and your wife. If there's anything about you that you don't want us to find on our own now is the time to own up to it."_

_ "There's nothing about me that I can think of off the top of my head. Ask my wife though, I've heard quite a couple things about her."_

_ "We'll also have to question your son." The social worker said. Adam's heart dropped. Neal was too young to go through that._

_ "Is that really necessary? He's only three years old."_

_ "We also question a child if they're old enough to understand what we're asking." The social worker explained. Adam just nodded trying to not let the tears show. "We can do the questioning at your house so it's more comfortable for your child."_

_ "Thank you. When will you be coming?"_

_ "We'd like to do it before your wife is released. I know you'd like to get back to your daughter as soon as possible so we'll do it fast. Tomorrow around noon." Adam nodded. "Have a good night, Mr. Gold." The social worker and officers left. A good night. Yeah right." Adam went back to Miranda's room and saw that she was up. By the looks of her she had been up for a while._

_ "You're up?"_

_ "They said you were talking to a social worker and officers. They said they had to call DYFS. What's going on?"_

_ "What's going on? Miranda, we could be looking at losing our children. They called DYFS because our daughter has F.A.S. do you what that is? Fetal Alcohol Syndrome! She could die! You drank so much that's she's in an incubator right now. She can't breathe on her own and her heart rate is extremely and dangerously low! Miranda, they think that we're hurting our children. They want to question Neal tomorrow. He's three years old Miranda. This is going to scar him for life."_

_ "I would be very worried if I were you. Adam, I can tell them anything and they'll believe me. I can tell them that you forced those drinks down my throat. I could tell them you made me quit my job so that you could keep a better eye on me. I could tell them so many false things about you and they would believe me."_

_ "That plan might work but I already gave them my side. They know my side of the story. Your plan will fail. You're a pathetic woman Miranda and when all this blows over, I want a divorce. I know you've been having an affair and due to that pre-nup I had you sign you won't get a thing. That includes the children."_

_ "I should have gotten an abortion. I drank because I wanted that thing to die. I didn't want her she shouldn't exist."_

_ "Are you serious? Miranda, do you hear yourself when you talk? You drank because you thought you would kill the baby. You better pray she makes it out alive. Guess what, she drew a breath so if she dies that means you can be charged with murder." Adam left without another word and went down to the NICU. Adam wanted to cry when he saw his little girl crying in her incubator. He pressed his hand against the glass and sighed a shaky breath. "You'll make it baby girl. Don't give up. You're my daughter, you can't give up. Please, God, please, don't take her." _

_End flashback_

"So they only talked to you the first day?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, they talked to Miranda the next day."

"How long was Hannah in the incubator?" Bria asked.

"About four weeks." Adam answered. "I met your mother when she was two months old." Belle smiled at the memory of meeting Adam in the park. Hannah was silent and had silent tears running down her face. Bae looked over after pulling his head out of his hands. He reached over and brought his sister into his arms. Hannah leaned against him and clutched his shirt in her hand. He rubbed her back and kissed her head.

"Miranda was an idiot, we've known this. She had no right to do those things to you. You don't need to worry about her again." Bae whispered in her ear. Hannah curled herself more into him and wrapped her empty arm around his waist. He tightened his arms around her. He shifted and put his arms under her knees and back. He got up with his sister in his arms and walked out without a word. Belle and Adam looked at each other.

"Time for bed guys." Belle said. Bria and Lucas slowly got up and went to bed. Belle looked at her husband and paced for a minute.

"What are you thinking about?"

"How much I want to punch my sister. How much I wish she wasn't in prison so I could. How much she hurt my daughter. How much she hurt you. Mostly, how much I wish I didn't share her DNA."

"I did this. Mom and Ruby warned me about her and I ignored them. I married her, I got her pregnant twice, and she almost killed my baby girl. She wanted to. She wanted to kill my princess." Adam said. Belle's pacing became faster and she harshly raked her hands through her hair. Adam could tell she was attempting to keep tears at bay. She grabbed a glass and threw it at the wall. She finally collapsed in Adam's arms, both of them crying into each other's shoulder.

Upstairs, Bria and Lucas were in their room lying in their beds.

"Lucas, listen." They both held their breath and listened. They could hear Bae talking to Hannah. "She's really beaten up about this."

"Well, she just heard that her mother tried to kill her before she was even born."

"I know. I wonder if she'll be okay."

"She'll be okay. Maybe we should suggest to dad that we skip a night of the story."

"I think we should stop all together. I mean both Bae and Hannah have gotten hurt Bae ran away after we heard his part and Hannah hasn't let go of Bae since he hugged her." Lucas sighed and looked at his twin.

"I think we should talk to Dad. Tomorrow though, I doubt he's sleeping but we're all exhausted." Bria and Lucas laid down and fell asleep. Adam peeked into Bae's room not too soon after. He saw that Hannah was still curled up with Bae and he had his arms wrapped around his sister protectively. He walked in and sat on the bed being careful not to make it move that much. He brushed some of Hannah's light brown hair out of her eyes.

"I'm so sorry baby girl. I never meant to hurt this much. I promise I'll always be here for you. You're my baby girl and I love you so much. You really are my miracle child." He pressed a kiss to her forehead through his tears and left the room. Bae raised a hand to wipe away a tear that fell down his cheek listening to his father while pretending to be asleep. He never his father loved them all and what just happened proved it even more.

**A.N. I'M GIVING ALL OF YOU A FAIR WARNING, THE NEXT COUPLE OF CHAPTERS (ABOUT TWO IF NOT THREE) ARE NOT TO BE VERY HARD ON HANNAH. THAT'S WHEN WE ARE GOING TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WHILE HANNAH WAS IN HER INCUBATOR. HOW ADAM AND MILAH HAD TO DEAL WITH DYFS AND HOW THEY ALMOST LOST HANNAH ABOUT TWICE. HANNAH'S GOING TO LEARN HOW LITTLE HER REAL MOTHER REALLY CARED ABOUT HER. HOW MILAH NEVER CAME TO THE HOSPITAL TO SEE HER, HOW ADAM HAD TO TAKE CARE OF BAE (NEAL) AND HANNAH BY HIMSELF UNTIL RUBY TAKES A LEAVE AT THE DINER TO HELP. THESE NEXT COUPLE CHAPTERS WILL BE ROUGH ON THE WHOLE GOLD FAMILY.**


End file.
